Just a quick heads-up that Rosemary Clement-Moore’s very funny novel Highway to Hell, the third book in the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series, comes out today. I think it’s the best one in the series so far – check out my review here.

Last week I walked by the far end of an enormous parking lot. A heavy winter’s worth of snow was pushed and piled up on the asphalt, criss-crossed with dirty tire tracks and trash. It was a desolate corner. I imagine that the world Philip Reeve created for his Hungry Cities Chronicles looks a lot like that parking lot – only in Reeve’s world, each of those tire tracks is miles wide and as deep as a ditch. After the world was devastated by the Sixty-Minute War, cities desperate for natural resources raised themselves up on massive caterpillar tracks and wheels and began to hunt down smaller cities in order to steal their food, fuel, and resources. The first of those Traction cities was London.

Hundreds of years later, Municipal Darwinism has left the earth bleak and bare, and London is running out of prey. The Guild of Engineers, not a particularly friendly bunch, have hatched a secret plan for London’s future. When young Tom Natsworthy, apprentice Historian, accidentally stumbles on some of the city’s secrets, he is plunged into an epic adventure that will follow him through five continents, four books, and the rest of his life.

Philip Reeve’s world-building is nothing short of astonishing. The history of Municipal Darwinism unfolds slowly, and Reeve has clearly put a lot of thought into the development of the world that his characters inhabit. The cities rise in tiers, with the poorest inhabitants living in the lowest tiers – where cities that have been eaten are processed , and where the mechanisms that run the Traction Cities make it hot, noisy, and almost uninhabitable. Jokes and bits of history can be found in many of the names, from London’s elevator system (The Tube) to the improbably named airships that Tom encounters (The Visible Panty Line.)

We meet only one uncomplicated character in Reeve’s world – Tom, who is good and brave to the point of becoming uninteresting. But Tom does manage to make a few mistakes, and plenty of complexity is provided by his traveling companion, Hester. While Tom is almost too genially likeable, it is sometimes impossible to relate to Hester. She is prickly, jealous, and hell-bent on revenge. As the stories go on, we learn that she has absolutely no regret for killing people – in fact, she almost enjoys it. In the final books she is traveling with a Stalker – a half-zombie half-machine created specifically to kill – and it is not difficult to find more humanity in the Stalker.

And yet Tom loves her – and she loves him back fiercely, and sometimes dangerously. Being in love in the world of the Hungry Cities is not likely to end well. Betrayal, death, or abandonment are the usual outcomes. Sometimes all three! And attachment is not only dangerous for the characters – reader beware! You will get attached to these characters, and they will die. A lot. Mr. Reeve has no misgivings about killing off favorite characters left and right. They live in a dark world where people (and cities) show no pity.

This series is a true epic, where actions and decisions have real consequences, even if the effects are not ever seen by the character. Even the tiniest choice can ripple out through the world of the books, and it is these massively flawed characters who are making the decisions. The core cast of characters will come across each other over and over, and the threads finally come together in the final book, A Darkling Plain. Reeve keeps the action constant right up until the end, and the conclusion is immensely satisfying. I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

The recent discussion of literary awards that use race as a criterion started over at Planet Esme. We’ve heard from Roger Sutton, Mitali Perkins (twice!), Yuyi Morales, and back to Esme again. I don’t think there’s an easy answer here – there are legitimate points being made on all sides of this conversation. In the end, I think the quoted fact that less than 3% of children’s books in 2007 were authored by African Americans is a good indicator that there is still a need for these awards. Kids should not only be able to see themselves reflected in the books they read, but also in a visible profession like writing. We talk a lot about reading role models – why not writing role models?

BookMoot explores the way that authors use video and book trailers to reach out to online audiences, with some great examples.

Over at Jen Robinson’s Book Page, Jen has started a conversation about how we can encourage reading aloud. She mentions President Obama in her ideas – and it just so happens that today he slipped away on a surprise visit to do a read-aloud in a classroom.

On the Powells site, Sara Zarr has some really great thoughts about recurring themes in an author’s body of work. Are your favorite authors writing the same thing over and over – and does it really matter? (Hat tip to Confessions of a Bibliovore)

Buy Valentines featuring art from children’s authors, support Save the Children. This is win-win, people!

Chasing Ray wants to know whether there are really topics that can’t be addressed in a YA novel. I absolutely agree with what Colleen has to say here. And Margo Lanagan herself stops by in the comments to clarify some things about her book, Tender Morsels.

Haven’t seen anything creepy yet today? Fix that right here. Coraline comes out this weekend!

Why won’t teens ask for help when they need it? What can we as librarians do to help them without scaring them away? Join in the conversation at the YALSA blog.

Kenneth Oppel’s new Matt Cruse book is going to be amazing. Can I have a space elevator please?

The brilliant Walter Dean Myers talks to Public School Insights about his upcoming book, and about our responsibility to at-risk young people. The take-away quote: “The first thing we have to do is change the norm. When these kids go to school, their norm is depressed. It’s been dislocated downward. So they have these low expectations of themselves–not of their abilities, but of what’s acceptable.” The first three chapters of Dope Sick, Walter Dean Myers’ new book, are available for download here. (Hat tip to Guys Lit Wire)

I know that there’s something intrinsically wrong about it, but that doesn’t change my compulsive love for book art. And oh man, these are some beauties. My eyes got really big when I got to the Alice in Wonderland one. Thanks to Fuse #8 for the fabulous find.

Laurie Halse Anderson wants to know what an author should do when a review gets the facts very wrong. I agree with many of the commenters – a brief correction note coming from the publisher seems like the wise course of action.

Lisa Chellman reminds us that good and bad reviews aren’t everything – in the end, it’s each reader’s own response that matters.

Over at YPulse they’ve put together a list of hip hop and rap organizations that are doing good in the community. Anybody who puts the words hip hop in a sentence with the words education or activism has immediately got my attention. These groups are doing some great work. And how can you not love Hip Hop Chess Tournaments?

Kids ♥ Authors Day is coming! Pretty soon I’m going to have to actually make a decision on which event I should go to.

I don’t know how I’ve never seen Judging the Books before – this is right in my wheelhouse! The 1980s, YA books, and making fun of book covers? I’m there!

Jody Gehrman, author of the very sweet Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, blogs about how she hates it when writers use replacement words like crap or frigging instead of using curse words. I am in agreement with her up to a point – if the character would use curse words in that situation, then they should be there. I don’t agree that words like crap and frigging don’t have any place in fiction – real people use those words, so why shouldn’t fictional people? Just keep it true to the character and I’ll be happy.

Speaking of cursing – I know you all saw Neil Gaiman’s twitter reaction to winning the Newbery, right? Made me laugh out loud at my work desk. Delightfully vulgar!

Something that is not especially kidlit related – if you’ve never read John Updike’s essay on Ted Williams’ final at-bat, please indulge me by giving it a look. This is the piece that I will remember him by. Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu

Antonia Lucia Labella only wants one thing in this world: to be the first living Patron Saint. Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly the ONLY thing she wants. She would also be pretty happy to get her first kiss, preferably from smolderingly handsome Andy Rotellini. And she’d like it if her mother would get off her back about her clothes, and maybe let her go out on a date once in a while. And… ok, so there are a lot of things that Antonia wants. But being a saint is first among the many.

While the YA heroine with a quirky obsession is an enormously overused trope in YA literature, Antonia felt very real. I think this is partly because her infatuation with sainthood is woven into all facets of her life. You can see the roots of her interest in the saints in her interactions with her mother and grandmother, in her stories about her father, and in her own strong faith.

Catholicism is so central to her life that it is not surprising that she would look for ways to make it a more active force in her life. She does this through her regular petitions to the saints for intercession in her day-to-day life, but also through her letters to the Vatican in hopes of becoming a living saint. Through her petitions for sainthood, Antonia tries to make herself an active participant in her religion. Antonia’s letters to the Vatican are very funny and very heartfelt:

I am writing to inform you of a grave oversight in the area of patron saint specialization, to replace my earlier letter this month about a Patron Saint of People Who Make Pasta… But there are even more pressing matters at hand than pasta. dire even! Like the fact that, as yet, there is no Patron Saint of the Kiss, and, to be more specific, the First Kiss! I ask you: How is this possible? Young Catholic girls and boys everywhere are in DANGER, not only because of the Vatican’s general need of a reality check in all matters teen-related (I mean, can you be more out of touch about us? Please!), but specifically with regard to your total lack of foresight in the area of kissing. Let me tell you what happens when there is no Patron Saint of Kissing, especially for us kissing virgins. I mean, not that I am one or anything – I’ve kissed plenty of boys in my day. Though, not to say that I overdo it either – I don’t want you to think I’m unchaste or something – but anyway. As a result of this deficiency, teenagers, who shall remain nameless to protect their identity, might possibly be praying to saints whose specialization is not kissing, and sources tell me that when this happens, it’s like intercessions gone haywire! (pages 175-176)

Her letters are completely charming, and they make me hope that there’s someone opening letters at the Vatican who really appreciates them.

I loved that the book, like Antonia, was genuinely open to the possibility that miracles happen in life. Antonia’s petitions to the saints are regularly granted – although not always in the way that she would like. And there is a very small subplot that leads the reader to believe that Antonia herself is capable of miracles – could she really be on her way to sainthood?

For Antonia, the Saints are “a virtual Rolodex of thousands of men and women to call upon for help in very specific situations, and not just Jesus, who I see as an abyss of possibilities. With Jesus, you never know what you are going to get, if he was busy or just not interested in your little dilemma and ignoring you. But with the Saints! At least with them you have everything narrowed down. Like, if I thought I might be coming down with strep, a little word to St. Ethelrelda, , Patron Saint Against Throat Diseases, and I’d be good to go” (pg. 36). In case any of you are in need of intercession, I thought I would share a few potentially useful Saints.